Chemicals Like Magic
by Rawberry
Summary: Hermione, newly appointed Head Girl, signed up in volunteer for Hogwarts' first tutoring program. Little did she know that she would be the proposed tutor for the Pureblood Prince himself. DMHG RWLL HPGW, drug use, sex, language. Regular updates!
1. Ch 1  So Few Changes

A/N: WOW. It's been a long time since I wrote a fanfiction. I've written several in the past, but I hope for this one to be my most elaborate. I am open to any and all criticism, comments, and suggestions. I was kind of inspired by Skins (UK) and my own life for some elements of this story. I really hope you enjoy it!

Summary: When Draco is set up with Hermione for tutoring in Muggle Studies class, an unexpected romance begins to blossom. Overcoming family's, friends', and peers' judgments proves more stressful than the pair had planned. Much more than you expect! Semi-AU, drugs, drinking, lemon/limes, DMHG, HPGW, RWLL

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><p><strong>Chemicals Like Magic<strong>

Chapter One: So Few Changes

Hermione Granger's hand slid across the parchment as her quill scrawled out her name at the end of the sign-up sheet, already sprinkled with names.

"Hermione… Jean... Granger," Hermione dotted her 'i' and smiled, looking up at the Headmaster, "Alright, when will I have my first young student to assist?"

Professor Dumbledore smiled, taking the parchment from Hermione and setting it on a mounting pile of papers. His desk chair creaked as he sat back in it, relaxing his worn back.

"Well, Miss Granger, I do have a list of some students who could use your assistance. But I must be honest," he paused, fiddling with his beard, "you are the top student in the entire school."

As Dumbledore paused, Hermione smiled proudly at this compliment. She had worked hard to earn it. Seven years of a combination of drama, late study nights, gossipy roommates, lousy professors, Death-Eater and Dementor attacks, and of course, Voldemort's daily torture on the entire wizarding world, had made it a bit of a challenge to earn such an honor. She deserved it.

"Yes, Professor?" she coaxed.

"Well, I was perhaps hoping to hold on to you until a truly needy student came about," the old wizard mused.

"Oh," Hermione's smile flickered. She was really hoping to have something immediately available to keep her busy. She also wanted to take advantage of the downtime in her homework schedule to tutor some younger students and perhaps brush-up on her own past studies. Not that she needed it. She was, after all, the top student at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Professor Dumbledore picked up quickly on her disappointment.

"Miss Granger, I know you may be a bit disappointed, but I assure you, it won't be long before I find you a tutee whose needs are much greater than others'. Then, I will pull out my special weapon, and that weapon is you," Dumbledore smiled reassuringly.

Hermione smiled and _did_ feel special.

"Alright, Professor, I can wait," the young woman said, standing and pulling her sweater off of the back of the chair she had been sitting in, "Just let me know when that needy student appears."

"I will, Miss Granger. And thank you again for volunteering your services."

Hermione nodded and walked out of the Headmaster's office. She folded her warm brown sweater over her arms and started down the empty corridor toward the Gryffindor common room.

It was nearly silent in the halls, except for the occasional sound from a classroom as Hermione passed by. She took a moment to enjoy the sound of the heels of her conservative black-strapped shoes clicking on the stone floor. She had just bought these shoes from a boutique in Hogsmeade, and was quite proud of them. They were a soft black leather and rather comfortable for daily wear.

She approached the familiar room of enchanted stairs and carefully selected which staircase to step onto. Just as they had the past 6 years, the staircase shifted to meet an adjacent staircase. Hermione's knee-length black pleated skirt shifted and bounced with her movements. She wore the same white button-down style shirt that she wore nearly every day, with the two top buttons undone. Her hair was up in a tight bun, and for make-up, she wore only a clear lip-gloss.

She approached the portrait entrance to the Gryffindor common room, stated the password, "caduceus," and stepped through the hole behind the portrait.

The Gryffindor common room was warm and welcoming as always. The room was scattered with people either curled up on couches, playing cards at the table, gossiping in huddles, or just enjoying their afternoons as they saw fit.

"Wotcher, 'Mione!" Ron hollered across the room, grinning like a fool. On his lap was Luna Lovegood, who promptly fell off of his lap when he stood up clumsily. Luna only laughed, and braced herself on the heavy oak coffee table in front of the plush loveseat the pair had been sitting on. On the coffee table was what appeared to be a 10-inch tall glass vase with shimmering gold and red flecks within the vase. Upon further inspection, it became evident that this vase was in fact, a brand-new bong.

"Hermioneeeeeeee…" Luna cooed, getting to her feet and fixing her airy floral print dress. Both Ron and Luna were toasted.

"Hello, Ron. Hi, Luna," Hermione rolled her eyes, but still had a small smile on her face. She didn't really mind if her friends smoked marijuana, she had learned by now no matter what she would say or how many statistics she would throw their way, they would still do as they pleased. It was safe enough, anyways, and Hermione had more important things to do right now than lecture her classmates. She was ascending the staircase to the girls' dormitory to pack up the last of her possessions, as she would be getting her own private quarters. Hermione had been honored as the Head Girl this year.

She opened the door to the girls' dorm and headed toward her desk next to her bed. The desk supplied to Hermione from the school was sturdy, made of the same oak as the coffee table in the common room, and had been in use for many years. It had a small stained glass lamp in the corner and was relatively barren compared to how it had been kept since the first day she arrived at Hogwart's. Now all that sat on the desk next to the lamp was her laptop, a birthday gift from her parents one year prior.

Hermione slid the clasp of her laptop over, and opened it. The laptop lit up and she opened her e-mail. There was one message in her inbox, from her father.

'Hermione,

Sorry for not sending money yet this month, we have had some things come up and I had to spend a few days in a motel. Your mother and I have been having some trouble getting along. Currently I'm back in the house, but your mother hasn't been talking to me. Hermione, dear, you're the only one that I feel I can talk to you. You've grown up so quickly and you're so responsible. I can't wait to see you over the holiday, maybe that will cheer us all up here.

Take care, I'll be sending over funds soon. Cliff and Mum send their love.

Love,

Dad'

It wasn't uncommon nowadays for Hermione's parents to be arguing. They had been on the verge of divorce since shortly after her baby brother, Clifford, was born almost two years ago. She sighed, closed her laptop, and leaned back in her wooden desk chair. Her eyes wandered across the desk and over to her four-poster bed, which was made neatly, as always. For a moment, she thought she might actually miss this desk, this bed, and this dorm room… Being close to her friends. Then she reminded herself that the title of Head Girl was a very respectable honor, and she would get so much more done with a whole suite to herself.

With that reassuring thought, she gathered her laptop and a few stray pens and packed them into her leather shoulder bag and exited the dormitory.

"Hermione's back!" Ron beamed, again clumsily bumping Luna off of his lap, onto the floor.

"Not for long, Ron," Hermione replied, "I'm off to unpack in the Head Girl's suite."

"That's right," Luna said, gently, "What an honor; congratulations, Hermione." Luna's eyes were even more glassy than usual. She was such a calm girl; weed didn't change her much at all. A few more giggles and maybe a handful more wacky ideas, that was Luna Lovegood on pot.

"I want to be Head Girl," Ron said, giggling as he loaded a pinch more of weed into the stem of his water pipe and put it to his mouth. Luna busted into a fit of laughter as well, and raised her wand to light the bowl, "Incendio."

Hermione shook her head jokingly and exited the common room.

The Head Girl's quarters were not far from Gryffindor's commons. It was just a staircase's ride up to the top left corner of the room with the enchanted stairs. When Hermione arrived at the door of the quarters, she stopped a moment to examine the portrait that guarded the entrance.

In the portrait, there was a young woman standing next to a grand piano. She stood with a soft smile on her face, and a parasol closed in her left hand. Her right hand rested on top of the piano. This was all set in an elegant mansion in front of a bay window with blue curtains on either side.

"Good evening, Miss Granger," the woman in the portrait spoke with an American Deep South accent, "My name is Lady Clarice, it certainly is lovely to meet you."

"Hello Clarice, its nice to meet you as well," Hermione smiled, and offered the password, "Fluffy Godric."

The portrait opened toward Hermione. "Very well," Clarice smiled, welcoming Hermione into her new living quarters.

Hermione walked up a few stone steps and into the Head Girl's suite. The room was breathtaking. The living room had a rounded ceiling, enchanted to generate pastel yellow and pink clouds with a beautiful crystal chandelier descending to the center of the room. Around the room there were three seats; one was a long, white, leather couch with brass stud accents; the other two seats were matching elegant high-backed chairs with the same white leather and brass studs.

The floor was thick hard wood, polished so thoroughly, Hermione could see her reflection in the panels. A large filigree-patterned area rug spread itself across the majority of the living room. Directly across from the entrance of the suite was a tall window overlooking much of the hillside and the lake behind the school. Placed in front of the window was a spacious desk. Hermione nearly ran over to it, and set her laptop on it, opening it and admiring how picturesque the whole thing was. She looked around and examined the Head Girl quarters one more time, and smiled.

Her bedroom was just as beautiful. Behind a delicate white curtain on the left side of the room, Hermione's bedroom could be accessed. Inside, a queen-sized, four-poster bed centered itself against a black and white tapestry. Clean, white bed sheets adorned the bed and looked quite inviting to Hermione.

The brunette threw herself onto her bed and pulled her hair out of the tight neat bun it had been in. Hermione slid off one shoe, and then the other. She sighed, unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off, tossing it to the floor beside the bed. Relaxing in just her bra, knee-high socks, and skirt; she let her mind wander.

'Who _did_ Dumbledore choose for Head Boy?'

* * *

><p>"Professor Burbage, you can't be bloody <em><strong>serious<strong>_!" Draco Malfoy howled at the Muggle Studies teacher, slamming his book down on her desk.

"Mr. Malfoy. I'm sorry but if you do not pass my class," she threatened calmly, "you will be taking summer courses to make up for it."

Draco's eyebrow twitched. "This is absurd! What do I care about some stupid muggles? Pathetic creatures are not fit for my knowledge."

Burbage gave Draco a stern, disapproving look. "You can take your attitude straight to the Headmaster, young man," she pointed to the door, "Now."

Draco groaned. He did not want to have to have a conversation with that bumbling twat and sad excuse for a Headmaster, let alone have to discuss with him why, _he_, Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy _legacy,_ should be bothered to take and pass a course about studying muggles. Nevertheless, he set off out the door and toward the Headmaster's office.

The blond had not changed much in his teenage years. Still brooding and mean-spirited, with a vicious dislike for most things he encountered in life. At least, that's what he showed on the outside. On the inside he was actually kind of feeling depressed. He felt like he could never find someone who he could love because of his cold demeanor and general aggressiveness. And because of the fact that he chose to build this fence around his emotions, he hated himself. This cycle of self-hate had been going on for a few years now. It started after he couldn't bring himself to lower his guard after a gorgeous, smart Ravenclaw girl had asked him to the Yule Ball and he couldn't even give her the courtesy of a date when no one had even asked him.

'Dog-faced wench, why would I waste time being seen with you?' He remembered telling the girl, 'You're a quarter mud-blood aren't you?'

Yes, Draco had always been a petty soul. The one thing more depressing to him than his aversion to human decency was the fact that he was still a virgin. Who would want to sleep with the one guy who believed he was above everyone else? No one knew this of course; Draco always told his friends the gruesome details of each sultry 'encounter' with every hot, slutty female Slytherin student there was. The way she smelled, how she felt, if the carpet matched the drapes… Who would question it? These girls, after all, were slutty, right?

At least now he reasoned with himself and saw that these were things that he wanted to change. The question was not what, but how? He had to find something to prove to himself that he wasn't meant to be nothing but a heartless loner his whole life.

The afternoon was coming to a close and the sun was pounding into the side of Hogwart's. Draco walked down a long hall lined with windows on the west side, cascading light onto his swiftly moving body. Approaching the statue guarding the Headmaster's quarters, Draco uttered the password and a stairwell began to appear, twisting out from behind the statue. He climbed the stairs and walked into Dumbledore's office.

"Headmaster," Draco started, but was interrupted by a calm voice.

"Hello Draco. I understand that you are having trouble in a class. I have your solution right here," he said confidently, sitting back in his overtly high-backed chair.

Draco frowned, "What could possibly help me other than dropping that pointless Muggle class?"

The old man mused, "Well, I will tell you the idea would take a bit of change from you as a person. But I think its time for a change. You are going to be Head Boy, after all."

Dumbledore watched Draco's face slowly change from frustration and anger, to sarcastic, to interest. Finally he said, "Go on."

* * *

><p>The next morning at breakfast, Hermione sat with Ron, Harry, Luna, and Ginny. Harry and Ginny were dating, and showing it off with no shame. Harry had cheered up this past year around the same time that Voldemort was locked into the deepest securities of Azkaban, with no ability to escape, and no magical abilities, slowly dying. Harry still got twinges of pain in his forehead from his unbreakable connection with Voldemort, however. Lately they had been more and more painful for him. But, you wouldn't know from looking at him. He always had a smile on his face, his grades were doing much better, and he had less of an angsty cloud around him constantly.<p>

"Good morning everyone," Hermione smiled and sat down to breakfast, pulling a croissant onto her plate. She looked rather rested compared to recent days, her new Head Girl quarters being extremely relaxing.

"Hi—Miney," Ron muffled through a cup of chocolate pudding. He swallowed, leaving a bit of chocolate still on his chin, "Did you hear about the new Smoking Blends that Fred n' George have been selling?"

"No, Ron," Hermione said, "And I don't know if that's completely ethical for them to sell _anything_ to smoke, especially to minors."

Ron protested, "No, Hermione, its totally safe, yeah? Its no problem." He grinned at her reassuringly.

Hermione gave him 'the look.' Ron shrugged and grabbed another helping of sausage from the table.

From across the crowded main hall, Hermione heard a door slam, followed by loud, heavy, and quick footsteps. She swung around to uncover the source of the noise. Draco Malfoy was stomping towards her at an alarming pace. In his hand he gripped a rolled piece of parchment. He reduced the space between them quicker.

"Granger! I need to meet with you right bloody now! Meet me outside the Main Hall immediately," Draco growled.

And as quick as he had appeared, he disappeared. Hermione sneered and turned to Ron, "Ugh, what was that?"

"I don't know; do you want me to get after him?" Ron asked, confused.

Hermione shook her head. "Whatever. I'll just see to it myself. I'm the Head Girl, he's not going to mess with me," she stated, standing and brushing off the croissant crumbs on her hands, "I'll be right back."

Hermione marched out of the Main Hall and into the foyer. By the top set of stairs, Draco stood against the wall with his arms crossed, leering at her.

He spoke quietly, "Over here, Granger."

She obliged. "What is your problem, Malfoy?" Hermione said, standing with a lean to the right, hand on her hip.

Draco couldn't help but notice her knee and lower thigh from under the skirt as she shifted her weight on her hips. Her knee-high socks remained tight and did not slip on her skin.

"Malfoy?" Hermione urged, annoyed.

He snapped out of it. "Here, look at this," he handed Hermione a piece of parchment.

Hermione quickly read it over and shook her head, "This is a tutoring program acceptance form and…" She paused, checking twice to see that she was not mistaken, "and, Dumbledore wants _**me**_ to be your tutor?" Her face was full of disbelief alongside insult.

"Don't talk so bloody loud!" Draco scolded, snapping at her and pushing the paper down from out of the air, up against Hermione, "And don't go waving this around."

Hermione smirked, "Oh, what is it? The great white arse Draco Malfoy doesn't want to be found out for being a dummy?"

Draco snarled, "Shut up, wench."

"Can't handle the fact that a Muggle-born has to be your new professor?" she taunted.

"Mudblood!"

Hermione swung her open palm across Draco's face, hard. Draco was knocked off balance but caught himself. His hand moved up to comfort his red, stung cheek.

"Fuck, you hit too hard," he whined.

The witch smiled sarcastically. "Listen, Malfoy. If you want help with coursework from me, you'll need to stop by my _Head Girl's suite_ and apologize in person. Come prepared to grovel."

Draco sneered, "Are you joking? _You're_ Head Girl?" He laughed to himself.

"Shut the hell up, Malfoy. I'm better than you now, you can just get over it if you think that I'll take crap from y—"

"I'm Head _Boy,_" Draco retorted, "And we all know males are the superior species," he childishly claimed.

Hermione groaned, "Oh please, what are you, twelve? If you want tutoring, grovel. I'll be available around 6, jerk."

She walked away and left Draco with a worse mood and a red hand print on his cheek. He leaned back against the wall and sighed. She was a cold bitch, he told himself. But Draco knew he had to do this, if not for his own self-esteem and to prove to himself he was more than just a shallow pureblood who would never get laid, then at the least, for his damn grades.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading! I'll start on Chapter Two very soon. Please leave me reviews/comments/critiques and I promise I'll take them into consideration on my writing.

Rawberry


	2. Ch 2 Invitation and Agreement

A/N: Thank you everyone for your input via reviews! I really appreciate your input. Here's the second chapter, enjoy (or not) and review!

Summary: When Draco is set up with Hermione for tutoring in Muggle Studies class, an unexpected romance begins to blossom. Overcoming family's, friends', and peers' judgments proves more stressful than the pair had planned. Much more than you expect! Semi-AU, drugs, drinking, lemon/limes, DMHG, HPGW, RWLL

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><p><em>Last Time:<em>

_Hermione, newly appointed Head Girl, signed up in volunteer for Hogwarts' first tutoring program. Little did she know that she would be the proposed tutor for the Pureblood Prince himself._

**Chemicals Like Magic**

Chapter Two: Invitation and Agreement

The weather was warm, and Hermione's school clothes clung to her body. She and Harry were walking across the green towards the school after Tuesday's Care of Magical Creatures class. The grass was getting taller and needed maintenance, Hermione loved the smell of fresh cut grass and she thought to herself how she would probably be able to smell it from her open windows in the morning as it was covered in dew.

"Hermione, do you want to go to a party?" Harry asked politely, unsure of her response.

"What kind of party?" She asked. It wasn't routine for her to be invited to a party, unless it was after a Quidditch match, when the party kind of just… happened. She wasn't exactly the cool, partying type.

Harry thought a moment, "Well, its not exactly public knowledge. It's kind of a secret. A bunch of us were going to go down by the lake and um, indulge."

"Indulge, Harry? Really?" Hermione laughed.

"See," Harry said, "I knew you wouldn't be interested! I told Ron you weren't into having fun." Harry stuttered, worried he'd just upset his friend.

Hermione stopped, and grabbed Harry's arm, stopping him, too. "What do you mean, I'm not into fun?" She objected.

Harry looked around for an excuse, "That's not what I meant, Mione, I just…"

"No." she said, interrupting him, "I'll be at your party. When is it?"

He smiled, "It'll be on Friday night. Just meet down here when it starts to get dark, probably after dinner."

"Sounds good," Hermione replied, tucking a wisp of hair that had fallen from her bun, back behind her ear, "I can finally show you all how _fun_ I can really be."

Harry and Hermione had arrived at the doors to the school. Ginny was standing outside, waiting for them. Well, more specifically, she was waiting for Harry.

Ginny Weasley had no class today and was leaning up against the castle, chewing a piece of gum. Her hair was the same striking, Weasley red. Small braids were scattered in her hair. Ginny was wearing her hair short these days, the length ended right under her chin. The bangs of her hair had flecks of gold in them.

To her mother's dismay, Ginny had taken to wearing short dresses with no stockings on her days off. Today she wore a thin-strapped, cotton dress made up of several, thick, horizontal bands of colors. The sandals on her feet were made of white leather, and were a bit scuffed and grass-stained from many evenings of running around with Harry by the lake. She held a small, empty pipe in her hand and was admiring it carefully.

"Hi, Harry!" Ginny smiled and leapt toward him, throwing her arms around Harry's neck and hugging him lovingly.

"Hey Gin," Harry hugged back, "What do you have?"

The redhead broke the hug and presented Harry and Hermione with her new glass pipe. It was dark blue, and enchanted to show small spirals of flames periodically spiraling around the base and bowl of the pipe. It was only about 4 inches long, but still impressive.

"Do you like it, Harry?" she grinned, putting it up to his eye-level.

"That's a beautiful piece of glass," Harry complimented, putting his arm around her.

"I think I'm going to go to dinner now," Hermione stated, breaking apart from the group that Harry and Ginny were now forming.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Ginny pleaded, tugging at the brunette's skirt, lifting it a bit higher than she felt comfortable with.

Hermione swatted Ginny's hand away and adjusted her skirt, "No really, its fine. I have some studying that I need to do tonight, so I really must be going." Without waiting for a response, she opened the castle door and slipped inside before Ginny had a chance to grab her again.

Ginny groaned and Harry waved 'good-bye.' "She's never any fun," she complained to her boyfriend.

"I think she's going to show us a new side of herself this Friday," Harry hinted. Ginny smiled and said, "Fine. But that's Friday. Can we just go toke now?"

With that, the pair disappeared behind a corner of the castle.

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><p>Hermione pushed her way through a crowd of first- and second-years talking in Hogwarts' foyer and managed to get inside the Main Hall. She looked around and saw Luna sitting at the Gryffindor table. Hermione walked over to Luna and sat across from her.<p>

"Hi there, Hermione, welcome to dinner," Luna greeted her with an odd smile. There was nothing on her plate.

Hermione bit her lip, then said, "Wotcher Luna… That's a cute outfit," she complimented, noticing something odd about her friend.

"Oh thank you, Mione. Its just a cropped school jacket over a white sundress," she said plainly.

"Did you just sit down?" Hermione asked, motioning toward Luna's empty plate.

"Oh no," Luna replied, pulling her long platinum hair together and sweeping it over to one shoulder, "I've been here for a good 45 minutes. I'm not hungry." She looked down at her plate and smiled. Pulling her napkin up from her lap, she rubbed the edge of the dish with it.

"Was it acid?" Hermione inquired, watching as Luna's face closed the gap between her and the plate. Her hands began to hold and smooth her hair gently, toying with the ends.

"No, no," she replied with a small laugh, never breaking her downward gaze, "Psilocybin mushrooms, silly."

Luna had shown an interest in psychedelics ever since Hermione had known her. Hermione was pretty sure the girl had tried everything from LSD to Peyote buttons. She didn't mind though, considering Luna's hobby was a lot safer than Grindylow-fishing or Ghoul-smashing, which was what a lot of the thrill-seeking students around Hogwarts and in the wizarding world were into.

Hermione shrugged and set a piece of chicken and a large scoop of pasta on her plate, and began eating. She couldn't help but stare at Luna a little. 'Dinner and a show,' she thought.

"Excuse me," Luna said, standing rather quickly, "I just remembered a terribly important snow globe that my cousin Archibald sent me from Ireland." Her bracelets that reached halfway up her forearm jangled loudly with every step.

She disappeared, and Hermione was alone with her dinner.

* * *

><p>Tuesday night was Ron's Study Night. The one night during the week that Ron didn't smoke pot. He didn't drink. He just sat at his desk, and studied.<p>

"Fuckin' Tuesdays," he cursed, slamming a fat book onto his strong Cedar desk. The book was for Snape's Potions class, Ron's least favorite class, not to mention it was the one with the most homework. He started writing his paper on Archaic Potions two days ago. He had 100 words on a 10,000-word essay. That's practically a short story. Ron. Was. In. Hell.

Its not that he totally hated the idea of a Potions class, or even having to know what Potions were, considering its such a stereotype for a wizard to make a potion, duh. Its more that he totally hated having to feel like everyone was just prejudicing him because he was a wizard that couldn't be bothered to make a Potion, okay?

All right. Not every one of Ron's Study Nights was sober. Fuck.

'Its time to find someone to pay to do my homework,' Ron thought to himself.

Ron popped his head out around the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room. "Hey, Ginny! You busy?"

"I'm not going to do your homework, Ron!" Ginny barked back.

Ron looked around the room cautiously. "…Lavender?" He called, wearily.

"Sod off, Ron, you never paid me from last time," Lavender snapped.

Ron groaned. Where could he find a moderately smart female at this hour?

* * *

><p>It was getting close to 6 p.m., and Hermione had just gotten in from dinner in the Main Hall. The sunset cascaded magnificently into the living and bedrooms of the Head Girl's suite. Hermione was lying on her bed reading a copy of <em>Advanced Potions and Medicinal Elixirs<em>. She was reading through the anesthetics section, sliding an embroidered leather bookmark down the page as her eyes met each line, taking in every complex word and sentence, understanding them without difficulty.

Her right foot lazily swung over and pushed down her knee high sock to her ankle, where her toe fought with it a moment to free her right foot from the sock. Her right foot did the same. She sighed in contentment, never pausing from her reading. Hermione's tight bun pulled at her scalp and she considered that to be the next enemy of comfort that she would tackle. She slid her bookmark to the top inner corner of the page she was reading and closed the heavy book on it.

She dragged herself off of the bed and headed to the bathroom. Her fingers picked at the tight band securing her hair until finally it began to unravel. She fluffed her long, thick brown hair as she pushed open the bathroom door and the light automatically turned on.

Hermione stared herself down in the mirror for a moment, searching out any blemishes she could find on her face, and rubbed them. Her freckles were blending more with her naturally fair skin tone; a few stray flecks still remained as unmistakable as the day she was born. Although she wore foundation occasionally to 'even her face out' (as her mother told her), she didn't mind them one bit, she loved her freckles.

The same went for her hair. Kids and relatives used to tease her, saying that it was frizzy, unruly, and that she should 'really have something done about that.' Hermione wasn't one to feel belittled when someone didn't accept her. If she were, she would have broken down from all of the 'Mudblood' taunts she received at Hogwarts from many Slytherin students. She ran her favorite hairbrush through her hair several times, enjoying the feeling of her follicles relaxing after being pulled tight all day long. She parted it slightly to the right and set her brush down, on her way out of the bathroom.

Hermione stood in the middle of her bedroom and pulled her skirt down from around her hips to the floor. She stepped over it and left it there lazily. She was comfortable with her button shirt on; it fit her so perfectly that sometimes she slept in it at night. Of course, she always wore a clean pressed shirt in the morning. Instead of taking it off, she unbuttoned all but two buttons that kept her shirt closed.

It had been so long since Hermione had been able to unwind like this after a day of classes. Usually her idea of a relaxing night would be sitting in the Gryffindor Common room watching Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Luna; take bong hits. So maybe she might have been letting herself get a little too relaxed.

Hermione had made her way to the kitchen now and had fixed herself a conservative glass of Fire Whiskey and a bowl of ice cream. The couch was calling her name, and so was a _Neon Indian_ album. She sat her ice cream down on a small coffee table in the living room and raised her wand, as well as her drink, flicking the former at her record player to cue the music.

No sooner than she had sat down and began to take her first spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, had she heard arguing outside the entrance of her dorm. Hermione groaned excessively, set her ice cream back down and picked up her drink instead, taking a swig. She walked over to the portrait-guarded door and forced it open. Unbeknownst to Hermione, someone was standing a bit close to the portrait at the time of its opening.

'**THWACK.' **Draco's knee jolted with pain. The frame of the portrait in front of the Head Girl's dorm had solidly collided with his left leg. He gripped his knee and leaned against the wall, causing a man in the portrait next to him to laugh, and politely urged him to "bugger off, the lady doesn't want ye here!"

"Draco?" Hermione said, surprised. She stood in the doorway in just her panties and mostly unbuttoned school shirt. Her drink jostled.

The injured Slytherin looked up at Hermione with a look of confusion and disbelief. 'She must not realize…' he thought, noting her state of… apparel. He couldn't help but to quickly capture mental images of the Head Girl in only her uniform shirt and panties. His eyes traced from her long, slender legs to her curvy hips and bust, and back down again. His face grew red, and finally he shouted to break the awkward silence.

"For god's sake Granger, cover it up!" he yelled, embarrassed and flushed, covering his eyes. Draco felt sweat bead up on the back of his neck.

Hermione gasped and slammed the door. She reappeared a moment later with a pink robe covering her body fully. "What do you want, Malfoy? Don't make me call Harry up here and tell him you've been a bloody pervert!"

"Oh don't flatter yourself," Draco retorted, standing to his feet and ignoring the searing pain in his knee, "You're the one who told me to show up here at 6. I wasn't expecting to be _flashed_!"

Both Draco and Hermione heard a quiet throat-clear from across the enchanted stairwell. A somewhat scared looking third year stood outside the hallway to Hufflepuff's Common Room, grasping a book and looking rather confused, as if he was struggling to decide something.

Hermione sighed, pulling Draco into her dorm as to prevent further embarrassment for anyone involved. She shut the door behind him; contrary to Lady Claris' comments that she would end up "surely pregnant" if she invited gentlemen into her quarters at such a late hour. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Draco looked around at what Hermione had set up for herself for her 'relaxing' evening. "Looking to get all boozed up, eh, Granger?" He smirked.

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy. I'm an adult and I'm entitled to a little reward now and then," she sipped from her Fire Whiskey and set it down on the coffee table, "Now what is it that you want from me?"

The blond sighed, "I told you," he said slowly, not wanting to repeat the humiliating conversation they had shared at breakfast, "I need a tutor for Muggle Studies."

Hermione laughed. "Oh, look, the great pureblood prince, Draco Malfoy, needs a study-buddy!" She mused as his face changed from embarrassment to agitation, "He just can't understand the concept of a toaster… or a washing machine… or maybe it's the blender that's got him stumped!" She really got a kick out of seeing Malfoy like this.

"Damn it, Mudblood! Stop taunting!" Draco snapped at her, clenching his fists.

She stopped laughing. "Fine," she stated, "I'll help you. On some conditions."

Hermione sipped her drink and Draco stared plainly back at her. "What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Number one," she started, walking around Draco as if to tease him, "You can't call me Mudblood. Its terribly rude," she sipped her drink, waiting for his response.

"Fine," was all that he said.

"Number two," she continued, taking another swig, knowing she might be a little loaded before the conversation ended, "You have to be nice to me, treat me with respect, no more of those dirty looks."

"Okay," Draco responded. He really hoped she would end this bit of torture and sign the student agreement paper already.

"And number three-"

"How many stupid rules do you have, M—" Draco stopped himself, "Hermione…"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Just one more," she continued, "Number three – You will show up every other night for tutoring until your grades are better. I want to get you out of here as soon as possible so I can actually help a _needy _student with their coursework."

"I **am** needy!" Draco pleaded, "Do you think I would come to you otherwise?"

Hermione smiled, "You never know who harbors feelings for you until their hour of need," she teased, reveling in her superior position. Draco grumbled.

Draco extended the paper in his hand toward Hermione, "Well I'll just leave you alone with your whiskey and ice cream if you would just please sign this student agreement paper."

"Fine," she said, snatching the paper from his hand. She walked over to her kitchen counter and grabbed a quill, dipping it in ink on her way to signing it. She leaned over, scrawling her signature across the bottom. "Hermione… Jean…"

Draco couldn't help but again, examine the figure in front of him, "I really ought to stop doing this," he thought to himself, pulling his eyes away.

Hermione handed him the paper and opened the door, shooing him out. He obliged, and the door was shut in his face.

* * *

><p>Ron trotted toward the Gryffindor Common Room, pulling on a white shirt and his pajama bottoms over his boxers before running out of the bedroom. "I feel like I'm in a castle, mate!" he saluted to Seamus Finnegan and bounded toward the door.<p>

"Ron!" Ginny jumped in front of him, "You aren't going to go beg Hermione to do it! Its not fair!"

"Whaaaaa-at," Ron said, stumbling backward, "Why the hell not?"

His little sister crossed her arms, "She's my friend, and I won't have you taking advantage of her, at least until you pay me!"

Ron laughed nervously, "Seriously, Ginny isn't it just an everyday gift to be able to help your brother in such a wonderful way?"

She grumbled, "Yeah right."

The two of them stood awkwardly, Ginny unwilling to let up her guard, and Ron, trying to find a way to make her move without touching her, so she technically couldn't say that he forced his way past her when she writes the owl to mom every week.

"Look, a bird!" Ron pointed, tricking his sister and nudging past her out the door, running down the hall.

Ginny ran after him seconds later, following him halfway down the corridor before stopping and yelling, "I'm going to IM her about this, you just wait!"

Ron turned the corner and stopped running. He approached the enchanted stairwell and stepped onto a staircase. Of course, it was the wrong staircase. He went sliding across the room to another staircase, and then another, and another. Finally he was on the right path up to the Head Girl's room.

A regal country voice spoke to Ron as he reached the corner of a hallway on the fifth floor. "I… am Lady Clarice Poppinghood. How may I be of service to you today?" the portrait offered.

"I want to see Hermione, please?" Ron pleaded with the portrait.

"Puh!" Clarice laughed, "Boy, you smell of sweat and _marijuana. _Miss Granger need not the company of two trampy gentlemen tonight," she snickered.

"_Two_ gentlemen?" Ron asked, "Who the bloody hell is in there with her?"

Clarice yawned, "Oh some strapping young lad was here ogling her. He's still in there with her. I haven't heard any screams yet, well, at least nothing more than a yelp of passion, anyway," She burst into laughter at Ron's confused, red face.

Ron stormed off. He had to tell Harry that Hermione was seeing someone! And Ginny for that matter! And, well… Everyone!

* * *

><p>AN: Lol, I pumped out this chapter in one night. I rock. Or do I? I won't know unless you review me! Thanks for reading, till next time! :)

-Rawberry


	3. Ch 3 Great Rubbish

A/N: Here's the third chapter. Send along more reviews! I really dig them, its good to know I actually have an audience.

Summary: Hermione, newly appointed Head Girl, signed up in volunteer for Hogwarts' first tutoring program. Little did she know that she would be the proposed tutor for the Pureblood Prince himself. Semi-AU, drugs, drinking, lemon/limes, DMHG, HPGW, RWLL

* * *

><p><em>Last Time…<em>

"Two_ gentlemen?" Ron asked, "Who the bloody hell is in there with her?" _

_Clarice yawned, "Oh some strapping young lad was here ogling her. He's still in there with her. I haven't heard any screams yet, well, at least nothing more than a yelp of passion, anyway," She burst into laughter at Ron's confused, red face. _

_Ron stormed off. He had to tell Harry that Hermione was seeing someone! And Ginny for that matter! And, well… Everyone!_

**Chapter Three: Great Rubbish**

Breakfast was being served in the Great Hall at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was still early and the Hall wasn't packed yet, it was even somewhat quiet. Hermione and Luna sat opposite at the Gryffindor table, making idle chitchat over their meals. Both were clad in their appropriate school uniforms and had their book-bags at their sides.

"So what did you do last night?" Luna asked innocently, pulling the crust off the edges of her toast.

"Well," Hermione said, "I was just planning on having a quiet evening alone, but Draco Malfoy dropped by."

Luna froze, "Malfoy?" she said slowly, "That's who you had in your room last night?"

Hermione nodded her head, not seeing what the big deal was. Sure, it was strange, but he was certainly not the strangest visitor she's had at her door over the years. "Why do you seem so shocked?" she asked.

Luna brushed her hands off with her napkin, "Oh, its just… Ron was all up-in-arms about how he went to visit you and the portrait outside your door said that you were screaming fits of passion with a gentlemen caller," she calmly explained.

Hermione's jaw dropped. Clarice hadn't… She sighed, realizing she hadn't quite judged the portrait's 'personality' as accurately as she'd thought. "No," she replied, "That is definitely **not** what was going on with Malfoy."

"Really? What was he doing there then? Help with schoolwork?" Luna said with a laugh, before she took a spoonful of her oatmeal in her mouth.

Hermione shrugged, stirring her eggs in a circle, "Actually…"

Luna swallowed. "What?" She put her spoon down, "He's Head Boy. Why would he need help with his coursework from _you_?" Luna smiled after the comment, trying to make it sound a bit less offensive. It was to no avail.

"Ugh, Luna!" she retorted, "He is failing Muggle Studies! I signed up for Dumbledore's tutoring program and he was just automatically paired up with me as part of the legitimate program," she reasoned to the amused Ravenclaw student.

"Okay, Hermione," Luna still smiled.

Hermione sighed and gazed across the room. Just coming through the doors of the Great Hall were Harry and Ron, and they looked pissed. Harry was stomping toward the group, his eyes full of confusion and anger. Ron was not far behind just ranting and raving, slinging words like, "Pureblood prick," "Dirty rat," and "Miss Traitor-pants."

Before she had a moment to prepare herself for the ensuing hoard of suggestive questions, Harry and Ron were in her face, interrogating her.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"Woman, have you forgot who the hell he _is?_!"

"Don't you remember everything he's done to us?"

"What makes you think that this is okay to do?"

"You're going to get us so suspended for hexing that piece of crap!"

"Just. What the fuck!"

"Have ya' fucked him yet, Granger!" a shrill voice called from across the Great Hall.

The group turned to see who it was. Of course it was Draco's right hand hag, Pansy Parkinson, standing on the bench with her arm extended, pointing straight at Hermione.

'Great,' Hermione thought, "Now I've got a real snake after me."

Pansy snarled, staring at the Head Girl with nothing but rage in her eyes. She had heard the rumor this morning while ironing her hair. Jet black and stick-straight is how she liked it. This morning, however, twin sisters and housemates, Flora and Hestia Carrow were squabbling on about some new tidbit of gossip they had overheard from Lavender Brown & Parvati Patil's wild chattering in the hall last night.

"Oh Pansy!" Hestia exclaimed, "Have you heard the latest gossip about your best mate?" Flora snickered. The girls were generally friendly as far as Slytherins went, but as of late they were looking to start a bit of trouble, or as they called it, fun. And they had heard the juiciest rumor they'd heard in a long while.

Flora announced, "We've heard that Draco's set his sights on a pretty little Head Girl!"

"And his daddy won't be happy," Hestia added.

Hermione was never Pansy's favorite person. In fact, most of the time that Hermione and Pansy came into contact, it was only for the short second that it took Pansy to mutter a comment about her status as a Muggle-born. However, she hadn't stopped there in the past years. As Pansy aged, she didn't exactly 'mature.' She had the typical mean-girl personality, and continuously loved to spread and start new rumors, particularly if they had a negative tone.

She also held a violent grudge against the Gryffindor. Pansy had her sights set on Head Girl since her third year. When she became a Prefect in her sixth year, she had thought for sure that she had Head Girl in the bag. Then maybe she herself would have a chance with Draco? But of course when Hermione was chosen, it only increased the tension between the two.

Pansy now stood in front of all of the students in the Great Hall, which continued to fill as the rest of Hogwarts came together for a filling breakfast before class. She stepped one leg up onto the table and hoisted herself up.

"That's right!" she shouted, drawing the attention of the entire room, "Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy have been seen _snogging_!"

The room burst into a fit of confused looks and a sea of tiny conversations that sprouted from this announcement.

"They," Pansy said, drawing attention back to where she liked it, on her, "They were up in the Head Girl's chamber!"

She wanted this to be a major blow to Hermione. Maybe she would be dismissed from her position? Then she could scoop it up for herself, and she and Draco would be together and would get married and…Pansy realized she needed to make this a bit more interesting. She began to stretch the truth.

"I-I saw them myself. The Head Girl is a slut!" Quickly she jumped down from the table onto the floor, the skirt of her jumper fluffing as the air caught it.

Hermione's shock was evident on her face. She turned red, and immediately turned away from Pansy.

"What the fuck!" Harry and Ron both shouted in unison.

Hermione began gathering her things and slung her book-bag over her shoulder. "She's lying," Hermione sighed, pushing between the perturbed young men.

As she walked toward the exit, she could feel the heads turn to stare at her. When she reached the door, she paused, her hand already pushing the door halfway open. She shouted back to the room, full of whispers, "It's a sack of lies! Pansy is a jealous, dog-faced, cunt!"

A few gasps littered the room. Hermione did not care. She shoved open the door and stepped into the foyer before realizing she had pummeled directly into a heavy body.

"Watch it, clod!" a familiar voice snapped, being pushed against the wall.

Hermione stumbled and fell to the floor. Her knees stung as they hit the cold stone of the foyer. Her books slid out of her bag and toward the stairs. She groaned with frustration.

"Oh. Granger, its you."

She turned her head around to see no other but Draco Malfoy standing in his school robes with a book in hand. They stared at each other awkwardly until finally Draco offered a hand. Hermione turned it away and stood to her feet on her own.

"We need to talk," she said, brushing off the dust from her jacket and skirt. She began collecting her books and quills off of the floor and replacing them in her book-bag. "People are starting to talk."

Draco picked up a book that was near his foot on the floor, extending it to her. "What are you talking about? Did they find out I was getting tutoring from a –" he stopped himself and corrected, "from a Gryffindor."

She took the book out of his hand and slid it into her bag. Considering his uncharacteristic kindness a moment, she quickly drew the conclusion that Draco was actually trying to change himself. Not just for his grades, but for his image, and ultimately, himself. But she wasn't going to be so quick to fall for it.

"Well, it's not the truth that is the problem, so much as the misinterpretation," she stated, becoming angry, "Your ignorant ex-girlfriend decided that it was her duty to spread the false reports of the Head Boy and Girl 'getting it on,' and that standing on the breakfast table was a great place to be when she decided to get the word out!"

Hermione was nearly screaming at this point, and Draco was a bit taken aback. He pushed through the door of the Great Hall and a great outburst could be heard.

"So," Draco bellowed, drawing the attention of the school to the start of his verbal thrashing he was delivering to Pansy, "You think its well enough for you to just make up rubbish about me being with some Muggle-born hussy?"

Pansy shrank. This would not end well for her.

The Head Boy slammed his fist on the table next to Pansy's plate. "I'll have you know, you're extremely mistaken." He backed away from his housemate and walked directly out of the Great Hall.

Hermione was leaning up against the door, listening to the commotion through the gap between the door and wall. As Draco pushed open the exit, he nearly knocked her backwards just as she had done to him. She jumped out of the way just in time, however.

"I don't care what the fuck that girl said," Draco stated plainly, staring coldly at Hermione, "but believe me, it would be a cold day in hell before I fell for **you**," He turned and walked away, back toward the stairwell to the dungeons, and presumably, his house's Common Room.

Hermione couldn't help but feel a little rejected. Its not that she had feelings for Draco, per se, she did not see him as anything more than a rival. But the thing that she hated about what Draco said was that it sounded like he previously felt rather decent toward Hermione, but it was all erased now. She frowned. Checking the time on her watch, Hermione realized she would be late for Developed Sorcerers' Transfiguration.

She set off toward the Middle Courtyard, her mind racing about how she was going to get Harry and Ron _not_ to jump Draco in the middle of the corridors. Arriving at Classroom 1B, the Developed Sorcerers' Transfiguration class. She was relieved to have found her seat just as students began filing in.

* * *

><p>"I'm so fuckin' mad, Harry," Ron groaned, shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth.<p>

"Where the hell does Malfoy get off using Hermione for his petty relationship jealousies?" Harry thought out loud.

Ron chewed, "But hey, mate, we don't even know if any of that is true or if its just Pansy making rubbish up," he reasoned.

Harry rubbed his head, "Well, yeah, I wouldn't think Hermione would be a traitor to us or anything."

Ginny sat down next to Harry, wrapped an arm around his shoulder and picked up a glass of orange juice to sip on.

"Where have you been, Ginny? Did you hear the damn talk about Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I was… trying to prevent the rumor from getting out, actually…" She answered. "I just didn't want it to get to anyone in Slytherin. But I guess if you tell one thing to Lavender Brown, the whole school is going to find out eventually."

"Are you saying that you started the rumor?" Ron asked, confused. After all, Ron was the one who actually spoke to Lady Clarice, and he was the person who blabbed it to the entire Gryffindor Common Room when he returned.

'Damn, girls really have a way of twisting up my words until they've convinced me that I've said something truly awful,' he thought.

Ginny bit her lip, "Actually, I was kind of covering for you, saying you were super drunk last night and you were making things up," she said.

"But it was Ron's Study Night," he reasoned through snivels.

Ron whimpered. When word got out that he was actually the one who announced that Hermione and Draco had been hooking up, he would surely be dead. "I need a bowl," Ron said, as he pushed himself away from the table and walked toward the exit.

* * *

><p>Draco slammed the door of the Slytherin Common Room open and stormed inside. It was as dark and inviting as he always remembered it being. He walked to the center of the room and looked around, searching for a classmate to harass about the latest gossip.<p>

"Millicent!" Draco's clamor upon his entrance finally caught the attention of a classmate. "Millicent, girl, come and talk to me."

Millicent Bullstrode sat on a couch in the middle of the room near the fireplace. Her wavy black hair covered part of her face. She was shy, but would waste no time if she had to defend herself, always prepared with a nasty comeback to whomsoever decided to taunt her that day.

"What is it, Draco?" She said politely, yet steadfast.

Draco sat on the opposite couch from Millicent. He eyed her, "You know Mill, someone's been saying things about me."

"Yeah," she replied, "Pansy's run her mouth all over here. And I heard she was planning to take it to the Great Hall, as sort of a public service announcement, or something."

"Bitch," Draco groaned.

Millicent hinted, "If you're looking to find out who started the rumor, I may or may not have the information."

Draco snapped to attention, "What do you want?" he said, cautious about her intentions.

"A snog," she declared proudly.

He grew blanch in response. This had to be a trap. A set-up. "Isn't there anything else that might suit you?" he implored her.

Millicent laughed, "Definitely not, Draco, " she watched him squirm.

Draco's biggest problem with Millicent was not her looks, as most might assume. It wasn't her shady bloodline, either. It was her entire temperament, her beliefs, her lack of attention to hygiene, and particularly, the creepy way she watched him do anything.

"If I do snog you… One little kiss," he ventured, "Will you tell me who started the rumor?"

"It's got to be on the lips," she replied, puckering, "for five seconds."

'Oh god, what are we, children?' Draco thought to himself. He agreed with a handshake.

He moved over to the couch that Millicent was sitting on. Slowly he leaned in toward her face, and she mirrored. Draco unfortunately was now so close that he could get the full combination of Millicent's overbearing perfume mixed with her morning halitosis. This would not be enjoyable.

His eyes closed and Draco imagined a pleasant scene – Relaxing in his room at his parents' house with a beautiful girl on his bed, brushing her brown hair, and counting each stroke. The girl's clothes lay discarded on the floor and she was sprawled out on her stomach, bathing in the light that fell in from the window on a summer morning. Her freckles dotted her back and legs, which Draco couldn't take his eyes off of. The girl in his vision looked over his shoulder at him.

The kiss with Millicent Bullstrode ended abruptly.

"Hermio—" Draco stuttered, and opened his eyes. His face flushed with embarrassment.

Of course, the sight he met wasn't nearly as pleasant as his daydream.

Millicent made what appeared to be, her version of a 'sexy face' at Draco, grasping his tie in her fist and pulling him close to him again, "Honey, you can call me Hermione if you want. Whatever… melts your butter." She licked her lips.

Draco pulled away from Millicent just soon enough to catch a glimpse of a camera flash from the stairwell of the boys' dormitory. He jumped up and rushed over to the source of the flash, to hear a clamor sounding like someone rushing up the stairs to the dorm. He ascended the stairs and threw open the curtain to the 7th year's dormitory.

Blaise Zabini stood there, with a large camera and a wand in his hands. "Its pretty cool, isn't it Draco?" he asked.

"What are you doing Blaise?" Draco asked, confused as to why he was wand-to-wand with his close friend.

"How can you do this to us, Draco?" Blaise countered, "A Mudblood, of all kinds of people, why would you do this?"

"Oh get over yourself, Blaise," he replied, "maybe you should consider being less of a heartless fuck."

Blaise lowered his camera and wand. "Fuck off, Drac—"

"Mucus-ad-Nauseam!" Draco's wand flicked, releasing masses of tiny balls of light, which to the wizard being cast upon sees as its fears and worries. Blaise fell to the floor and screamed, swatting away at what looked like little fireflies. Draco took this as his cue to grab the camera and run, which he did.

In the Slytherin Common Room, Draco took a moment to ask Millicent, "Who started the bloody rumor?"

Millicent smiled, "It was none other than Ron Weasley himself!"

Draco growled and ran out the door, leaving Millicent to tend to her hexed housemate.

* * *

><p>Ron and Ginny were in Potions class, with Ron's attendance in a lower-level class being caused by the simple fact that Ron could never master potion making. The two were supposed to be concocting a new experimental potion, researching its ingredients, and write a full parchment scroll on how it all acted together to create its desired effects. Wizard chemistry.<p>

Ron was already upset that he would need to be writing so much for some silly new brew that just made your voice sound deeper. This, plus the pressure of the guilt he had for starting the rumor to begin with. He couldn't take it. His hands were shaking as he sprinkled wormwood into the cauldron.

"Ron, you really need to stop shaking," Ginny warned, "I'm trying to get your name clear, you'd better act a little calmer unless you want to go through all of the hell you'd catch from everyone else."

He obeyed his sister.

Hopefully if he just pretended to be busy, that Ginny would construct the whole potion, and he would get credit as well. She was measuring away some foul, slimy plant material into the cauldron. She stirred it and it turned a bright electric blue. Two incantations from Ginny later, the potion had turned into a jelly-substance, exactly as Professor Snape had instructed.

Snape walked over, gazing into the pot with a bit of disbelief on his face. He looked up at Ginny's proud look on her face and Ron's armful of ingredients he had grabbed by chance. He dropped several in front of Snape and spilt them on the floor.

"Did you work together," Snape probed, "Equal work?" He directed the question to Ginny.

Ginny looked back at her brother, and saw his look of confusion. She smiled sarcastically and turned back to the Professor, "We divided the tasks evenly and accomplished our goal as a team," she said confidently.

Snape stood up straight, "Fine. 100 points to Gryffindor for a stroke of Weasley luck."

Ron was happy to have such a cool little sister.

Class was dismissed and Ron was among the first students out the door. He waved to Ginny and went off toward the Astronomy Tower where he was to meet Luna for Diviner's Club – the extra-curricular that Luna had created for herself, Professor Trelawney, and several other 'loony' students would talk about Divination and the all of the unseen in the world. Ron usually just went to spend time staring at Luna.

But before Ron could have his daily dose of Luna, he was going to be involved in something much less attractive.

Out of nowhere, Draco Malfoy appeared and sent a right-hook colliding against the side of Ron Weasley's face. He fell to the floor and groaned in pain, "Fuck, mate," he cursed, holding his jaw. His elbow was sore from hitting the stone floor. He looked up to determine who had delivered such a painful blow.

"Get up, Weasley!" Draco taunted, withdrawing his wand and kicking Ron's side, "Come on, you're just all talk right? I'll teach you to spread rumors about the great Malfoy."

Ginny appeared next to Ron, and Malfoy stepped backward to raise his guard with his wand.

"Expelliarmus! "Diffindo!" She shot two spells across the hall at Draco, leaving him disarmed and with a large tear in his school robe. He braced himself against the wall, his wand too far to summon.

"Back off, Draco, you've got the wrong guy," Ginny defended her brother, helping him up. "Maybe the one you should be slugging is your foul mouth girlfriend."

Draco groaned, "She's a blabbermouth but she's not my girlfriend and she certainly isn't creative enough to make this up," he argued.

The small crowd that had been gathering to watch the fight was dissipating. Severus Snape stepped out of his classroom to see what the commotion had been. Instead of any defense, Snape gave Draco a dirty look and walked back into his classroom, closing the door behind him. Apparently he had heard the 'gossip' as well.

Ron and Ginny began walking away from the scene. The hallway cleared and Draco was left looking foolish, picking up his wand before it was stepped on. Ginny used a quick healing charm on Ron's bruised cheek and helped her brother get safely to the Diviner's Club meeting.

Yeah, Ron had a damn great little sister.

* * *

><p>AN: There's chapter three. I pumped it out in about 6 hours today, taking breaks and stuff during. The next chapter will have Hermione and Draco's first tutoring session. Woot Woot!

Is anyone reading this? I could use suggestions, what would readers like to see happen? This story is just starting by the way, so there's lots more to come.

-Rawberry


	4. Ch 4 Mind Your Studies

A/N: Hi readers! Finally Hermione and Draco have their first tutoring session. Read this chapter to find out what exactly goes down :)

Summary: Hermione, newly appointed Head Girl, signed up in volunteer for Hogwarts' first tutoring program. Little did she know that she would be the proposed tutor for the Pureblood Prince himself. Semi-AU, drugs, drinking, lemon/limes, DMHG, HPGW, RWLL

* * *

><p><em>Last Time…<em>

_Ron Weasley, panicked, starts a rumor about Hermione and Draco being together._

_Pansy Parkinson shared 'their secret' to the entire school, a secret that may not be 100% true, yet. _

_In his path of avenging Pansy's outrage, Draco got dominated when he tried to kick Ron's arse in front of Ginny._

**Chapter Four: Mind Your Studies**

Draco took the camera to the Middle Courtyard. He tossed it on the ground in front of him. He then lifted his wand out, pointing at the camera.

"Expulso," he said. The camera burst into a small explosion, and cleared up immediately, the camera and anything it held within, was destroyed. Draco smiled and drew his wand to his robes, muttering, "Reparo." The fabric of his school robes instantly repaired. He tucked his wand away inside of his jacket and headed off to Muggle Studies, his least favorite class, especially now.

Draco was late to Muggle Studies by 5 full minutes. As he walked in the door and over to his desk, Professor Burbage added a "Mr. Malfoy, you are late again," into her lecture, mid-sentence. The other students looked at Draco, and turned to laugh and snicker amongst themselves.

He glared back at them and marched to his seat. This was absurd. Draco Malfoy was not someone who would be laughed at. Silly teenage girls and their jealousy would not make a fool out of him. And he absolutely would not, under any circumstances, let these rumors come true and stay to haunt him.

"So, ladies and gentlemen," Professor Burbage said, floating about the room, "Can someone name for us, three types of Muggle government systems?"

She gazed around the room. Few students had their hands up in the air. Even fewer students were even paying attention. However, one first year student sat at the front of the class with her arm held straight up, practically bouncing in her seat. She was a gangly young girl and had long, bushy blonde hair.

Burbage had made her way around to the right side of the room against a wide bookshelf. She looked over to the first-year student and smiled, "Yes, Harriet?"

Harriet turned toward the teacher and spoke with confidence. "Muggle governments can be based on three concepts – economical, political, or authoritative. An example of a government based on economical concepts is Socialism. An example of a political government would be Parliamentary. And finally an example of an authoritative government would be Democracy."

"Excellent, Miss Thompson!" Burbage had a great smile across her face, ecstatic to see a student so interested in her class, "50 points to Gryffindor!" she awarded.

Draco groaned, 'Well isn't she just the most clever thing,' he thought.

Burbage turned to Draco, "You know, Mr. Malfoy, you could be just as knowledgeable about the Muggle world as Miss Thompson is," she sarcastically smiled, "If only you would apply yourself…"

He responded with a dirty look and pulled a piece of parchment from his bag. He settled in for a session of doodling for the rest of the class period. "Damn Gryffindors," he cursed quietly.

* * *

><p>Pansy walked through the corridors of the school with Hestia and Flora Carrow. They were headed to the Slytherin Common Room after a gossipy History of Magic class had ended.<p>

"I still can't believe you just got up on the breakfast table and shouted 'The Head Girl is a slut' across the room!" Hestia giggled.

Flora cackled, "And the look on that Mudblood's face!" she added.

Pansy laughed as well, although not as hard. She was starting to feel a bit nervous about what Draco was going to say and do the next time that they met. Its not like they socialized together often as it was, but she had a feeling that rather than winning him over, she had driven him further away. After all, it wasn't just Hermione Granger's name that had been dragged through the mud. In fact, the more Pansy thought about what she had said, the more she worried that it looked more like an attack on Draco than anything.

Then, around the corner came the oh-so talked about Head Boy. Pansy froze, Hestia and Flora doing the same just steps later. Flora let out a small 'eep.' They turned around, walking as quickly as they could in the opposite direction. But it was too late; Draco had seen them.

"Parkinson!" he shouted, freezing Pansy in her tracks again. Malfoy caught up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do you have any idea the trouble you've caused me?" he growled.

She turned to face him. Hestia and Flora looked at the situation in front of them, and then at each other. They took what they interpreted as their cue to leave, and disappeared down the corridor. Pansy smiled awkwardly, "Oh hello, Draco."

He drew his wand and pressed it to her chin. He was about five seconds away from hexing the wench. "Anything to say for yourself?" his eyes glowed with rage.

"I'm sorry, Draco, it's just that, I really have feelings for you and I thought that if Granger was out of the picture, I could become Head Girl and we—" she was cut off by Draco's sarcastic laughter.

He cackled, "You? And me?" he said as he lowered his wand and studied Pansy a moment before saying, "What are you, woman? Mad? You could never be Head Girl, not even if you were the last witch in Hogwart's. And it's even less likely that we would ever be together."

Pansy was devastated and embarrassed. Her face was beat red and tears swelled up in her dark eyes. "But, Draco…" she whispered, defeated.

"No!" he shouted, causing a tear to run down her cheek, "I'm not your boyfriend, never will be! And I'm not snogging Granger. I suggest you stop spreading rumors that say otherwise." Draco gave Pansy one last dirty look before he walked away.

He could hear her sniveling from the end of the corridor, but he did not care. Draco had a tutoring session to attend. The sooner he started passing Muggle Studies, the sooner his life could be Granger-less again.

* * *

><p>The late afternoon was progressing and the rumor mongers remained unrelenting. Hermione struggled to focus in classes, distracted by the sound of her name being whispered all around the room. She did her best, however, and managed to get through the day without an emotional outburst. Her last class ended about thirty minutes ago, and Hermione headed up to her dormitory with a plate of dinner to spend the rest of her evening. The last thing she wanted was to take the chance of fall victim to another one of Pansy's outbursts.<p>

Ascending the enchanted stairs, she realized this would be the first time she would talk to Lady Clarice about what she told Ron, which had now spiraled into the biggest rumor of the school year. It was still autumn!

"Hellooooo~ Miss Granger!" Lady Clarice greeted the Head Girl, oblivious to the damage that she had caused.

"Lady Clarice," Hermione started, "Did an older student come by here last night that I didn't know about?" she asked, probing the painted woman.

"Why yes, honey," Clarice replied, "A young ginger-haired man came by asking for you."

"And, what did you say to him that I was doing?" she asked.

Clarice laughed to herself and smiled, "I jokingly told him that you were already passion-deep with a gentleman caller from Slytherin, and you were busy at the moment. I also called him a tramp."

"Clarice, you can not _do_ that!" Hermione exclaimed in anger.

The portrait smiled devilishly, "You're right, trampy is such a tacky word," she joked.

"No," Hermione scolded, "You can't joke to people that I'm being intimate with someone, everyone heard about it today and…" she thought for a moment, and said, "and it really screwed things up with him."

Clarice frowned a bit, "Well, that's no fun! Hermione, now that I know your rules, believe me, anything that goes through this door is top secret!"

Hermione studied Clarice for a moment, 'could she be trusted, honestly? Or is she mocking me? Well, either way, I don't suppose that it could be much worse right now. Besides, my food is getting cold.'

"Alright," she said cautiously. Lady Clarice smiled and curtsied in her picture frame. Hermione said the password and was allowed entrance into the Head Girl's Suite.

Hermione kicked her shoes off in the living room and sat down at the kitchen table to eat the dinner she had brought up with her. She picked at her food, managing to eat a pile of potatoes and a treacle tart.

After her short dinner, Hermione headed straight to her bedroom. She pulled off her clothes as quickly as possible on her way to the bathroom. What she needed was to wash away the stress in a hot shower.

The young witch flicked her wand to cause the flow of water to start. Before stepping into the shower, she stood in front of the mirror and pulled the band out of her ponytail, releasing her hair over her shoulders.

Hermione ran a comb through her hair to work out any tangles and help relax her follicles. She sat the comb down and reached around to unhook her bra, which she draped over the towel rack. Her panties slid down around her ankles and she stepped into the shower, soaking her hair and body.

While enjoying her shower, she let the stress of her day melt. She let her anger toward Pansy and every other student who had spent their day making Hermione's humiliating. She let go of her frustration toward Ron and Harry, and any resentment left toward Lady Clarice, as well.

She thought about Draco and how he had said to her that he could never fall for **"me," **so harshly, as if she was a lower form of life. Hermione hated to admit it, but Draco actually did hurt her a bit.

She sighed and did her best to forget about it, rinsing the shampoo and soap off of herself. It didn't do much trying to ignore the feelings that were filling up inside of her. Hermione leaned up against the shower wall, defeated. She refused to let Malfoy get to her.

She stepped out of the shower and turned the water off. Hermione could hear a swift knock on the portrait frame and a small conversation muffled by the door. Another knock was heard and she quickly pulled on panties and her long bathrobe. She listened for a moment to confirm her suspicion. She opened the door and pulled in the visitor before anyone saw who was at her door for the _second _night in a row.

* * *

><p>Harry and Ginny sat on the floor in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. They were making plans for the party that was happening that Friday night by the Black Lake of Hogwarts. They were to have a 'late night astronomy club meeting' outside, observing stars. At least, that's what they said when the pair had been interviewed by Snape earlier that day.<p>

But otherwise, yeah, they had gained "permission" to hold this get together outside under the stars.

Harry read the agreement paper, "It says we have 4 hours for this astronomy club project, that's bloody brilliant!"

"A reminder to students," Ginny read over his shoulder, "that there are Grindylow and merfolk down there. In the past, the Grindylow attacked students competing in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament." She looked at Harry, "Bummer."

Harry interjected, "Oh, come on, Ginny, its just a little excitement for everyone. It'd be fun," he pleaded.

Ginny groaned, "Fine." She stood and backed into a welcoming couch, sitting on it, "But we've got to try to put protecting charms around us, just to be safe."

Harry only laughed at the thought of being able to corral Hogwart's first and largest rave they would ever see. "Okay, Gin," he smiled.

Harry sat down on the couch next to Ginny and put his arm around her. "Look, I know," he said to her in a comforting way, "I know you've been worried about me getting into trouble just for the adventure. But really, I am glad to not have to worry about getting killed or having my loved ones in danger anymore."

Ginny looked into his eyes and smiled. He always had to be the hero, didn't he?

"Things will go great at the party," Harry told her.

She collapsed into a hug with Harry, excited for the event. "Oh my gosh!" She cried, "I'm so excited for the shopping I'll be doing tomorrow!"

* * *

><p>Draco was pulled into the Head Girl's dorm quite forcefully. Granted, he was happy to get out from the line of questioning from Lady Clarice; but still, he just would have rather not have chanced a concussion on the door frame when Hermione smacked his face into it by, what he assumed was, not completely accidental.<p>

"Blimey, woman!" Draco hollered, rubbing his forehead and nose. He pulled himself off of the floor and slid his cloak off from around his shoulders.

Hermione scrambled back to her bedroom before Draco could ask, 'Where the bloody hell are you going?'

"Be right back!" She yelled, closing the curtains to her bedroom as she disappeared behind them.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I don't care if you don't have your makeup on, Granger. I'm not interested in taking you out." Draco walked toward the curtains that Hermione had disappeared into, "Seriously," he said, slipping a finger between the fabric and stepping into the room, "I just – AAAAAHH!"

Hermione was pulling some denim shorts from London up over her panties when it happened. Draco unexpectedly walked in on her, and Hermione accidentally exposed her breasts to the Head Boy. Fabulous.

She screamed back at him, and grabbed her robe to cover up. Draco realized what had happened as soon as he looked up at her. He shot out of the room and onto the couch, hoping and praying Hermione hadn't seen him. He did not mean to interrupt her in such a way. He couldn't say he wasn't intrigued, however.

Hermione strapped up her bra and pulled a white sweater over it. She put her feet into her slippers and tried to calmly walk out into the living room. Maybe she could get out of this with some dignity?

Draco sat down on the white leather couch. His fingers played with the brass accents on it. 'Rather tasteful for a Gryffindor,' he thought.

Hermione cleared her throat. Draco looked over to her, "I'm –" he stuttered, "I apologize for what just happened…" he trailed off.

"What?" she asked. Had the boy who had been meanest to her in the school, just apologized to her? No crass remarks about her body? No name-calling? She was stunned.

Draco's soft expression of apology turned quickly to embarrassment. "What I meant was, maybe you shouldn't let your things run loose while you have company over!"

Hermione laughed at his attempt to cover up his soft side. "Its fine, Malfoy," she assured. "What did you come here for?" she asked, getting down to business.

"Well," Draco replied, "Dumbledore made up our study schedule, and he told me to bring you a copy tonight. Its our first session."

"Oh…" she said, not realizing this was an immediate thing, "I see," she said, going with it, "Well, I take it you brought your things?"

Draco picked up a book back from underneath his cloak on the couch, indicating that he had.

Hermione nodded and walked over to couch and sat down next to Draco. 'What an odd feeling,' she thought as she sat next to someone who had always been just a bully to her. She almost felt like equals.

"So, what is it that you're struggling with?" Hermione asked, taking the class book from Draco.

"Everything," Draco replied, embarrassed.

"What?" Hermione looked puzzled.

Draco sighed and said, "I have been paying someone to do my homework, and he just got caught and all of my grades were thrown out. I have to redo it all."

Hermione looked down, shocked to realize that she was hired to re-teach Draco Malfoy an entire class here! "Oh," was all she said.

"So, reckon we start with chapter 1?" Draco asked.

"Right," said Hermione, "Okay, get out your notes and a quill." She looked around, searching for a place for them to work, "Here, lets move over to the dining table, it's a better surface."

"Do you have any ink? I'm dry," Draco said.

Hermione grabbed an inkbottle off of the shelf and handed it to Draco, "Here, this will be plenty to keep you busy."

Hermione sat next to Draco at her small dining table. The book for Muggle Studies was called, 'Muggles: Not So Different, But Not So Similar,' a title sure to appeal to the pureblooded audiences, if not entrance them. The first chapter was quite simple. "The Similarities between Muggles and Wizards." It was a rather drabbley chapter about how we all shared a similar world, we coexist with them. How similar our bodies were. Ridiculous and rather childish, Hermione found it difficult to imagine that this was a challenging class for Draco.

Nevertheless, she began her first tutoring session with Draco Malfoy.

'It actually isn't too bad, ' Hermione thought, 'he's not calling me names or saying anything insulting.' She looked up from the book at Draco, who was writing out definitions vigorously.

"Draco?" Hermione said, calling the blond's attention.

"Yes, Granger?" he said, looking up at her.

"I noticed that you have been, well," she paused, "nice to me… Why is that?"

Draco bit his lip in frustration. "I didn't think that I really needed to be playing the blood card when that person who I need right now is a Muggle-born," He set down his quill and turned to face her.

"Hermione," he started.

'He called me Hermione?' she thought instantly. Hushing her voice of confusion over that, she continued listening to Draco.

"I know that I've been rude in the past, but I really hope that you could see past that and help me with this class. I really need it," Draco's face was a bit flushed.

Hermione gave a small smile, "I appreciate it, Draco."

The rest of the session went very smoothly between the two. They both managed to keep their tempers under control. Draco even got close to a whole chapter's worth of coursework done.

It was nearly 9 p.m. now, and Hermione needed to get to sleep if she was going to get up early to go shopping. She, Luna, and Ginny were all going to Hogsmeade on a special half-day visit. Hermione didn't want to have to break up the night, however. In fact, she was having a better time with Draco than she ever had with any of her exes on their first dates…

No, not dates. Tutoring Sessions not dates.

"Well," Hermione finally spoke, "I think it's getting late, I need to get ready for bed now."

Draco nodded, "Yeah, I've got to get going, too."

He collected his books into his bag and draped his cloak around his shoulders and secured it on. The air around them was thick and warm, even inviting. They walked to the door together and stood a moment, both of them delayed every action, holding on to the last seconds together as part of their legitimate tutoring session.

But the portion of their time that was spent over books had ended.

Draco leaned against a table and began to make his version of 'small-talk' before he was forced out of the door.

"So, er, Granger," he said awkwardly, "I suppose I'll see you again on Friday night, yeah?"

Hermione smiled, "That's right. You might have plans but you'll just have to cancel them because Muggle Studies is a very—"

"No," Draco interrupted, "I asked because I know you had plans to go to some shindig with Potter."

Hermione paused, thinking a moment, "How did you know…"

Draco smirked, "You must have forgotten that I am Head Boy. We both are made aware of all 'club events' happening on school grounds."

She responded by biting her lip and looking at the ground. The last thing she wanted was to have him ruin their cover by telling Professor Snape about the legitimacy, or lack there of, surrounding Friday night's 'Astronomy Club Meeting.'

He laughed a little, "Don't look so beaten, Granger," he said, enjoying teasing her, "I won't tell anyone about your silly party."

Hermione sighed in relief and smiled, "Thanks, Malfoy."

Draco's face became warm and he nodded, putting his hand on the door handle to leave, "I've got to get going now."

"Right," Hermione said, awkwardly extending her hand for him to shake, "See you around."

Draco took her hand and shook it politely, "You, too, Hermione," he replied, releasing her hand and withdrawing behind the heavy entry door.

'Hermione,' the sound of Malfoy finally addressing her by her first name rang in her head. She smiled to herself, enjoying the civility of her former blood-sworn rival. Maybe they could be more than civil? Maybe they could be friends.

If they were to become friends, then, maybe it would make it accepted for her to acknowledge the fluttering feeling in her stomach. Perhaps Hermione wasn't the only one whose stomach was rippling with nervousness.

* * *

><p>AN: There's the fourth chapter! I just want to say thank you to anyone who is keeping up with this story. It means a lot to me. Drop a review to me if you'd like. Otherwise, keep reading! My next update will be soon.

Love

-Rawberry


	5. Ch 5 Retail Attraction

A/N: Welcome to chapter five! I'm having a lot of fun with this fanfiction. I hope you are, too! Here it is.

Summary: Hermione, newly appointed Head Girl, signed up in volunteer for Hogwarts' first tutoring program. Little did she know that she would be the proposed tutor for the Pureblood Prince himself. Semi-AU, drugs, drinking, lemon/limes, DMHG, HPGW, RWLL

* * *

><p><em>Last Time…<em>

'_Hermione,' the sound of Malfoy finally addressing her by her first name rang in her head. She smiled to herself, enjoying the civility of her former blood-sworn rival. Maybe they could be more than civil? Maybe they could be friends._

_If they were to become friends, then, maybe it would make it accepted for her to acknowledge the fluttering feeling in her stomach. Perhaps Hermione wasn't the only one whose stomach was rippling with nervousness._

**Chapter Five: Retail Attraction**

The morning sun filtered through the stained glass window in the Head Boy's bedroom. Draco Malfoy was lying awake in his bed on this early Thursday, musing over last night's events. He thought about the way Hermione smiled and laughed, almost flirting with him last night. The way she crossed one leg over the other and would lean in, showing a fair bit of cleavage.

It felt like all night, Hermione was giving off a very sultry, sexual vibe. She would lean closer to Draco as she turned a page. She would let her fingers linger on a line of type. Their eyes met several times, exchanging sultry looks throughout the night.

Draco couldn't hide the fact that he was having his share of sexually fueled thoughts about the Head Girl. He wasn't exactly pleased with himself, but what could he do?

He could try fighting it. As if that had been working for the past month. No, instead, Draco decided to explore these newfound feelings. In fact, had been "exploring" them every night for a week now.

For a while, those explorations had kept Draco pretty busy and out of trouble. But he knew that simply _rubbing_ the feelings out wouldn't last forever. He had to either get over it, or get with it.

He sat up in bed and hung his legs over the side. 'Its Thursday, right?' he thought to himself, 'She mentioned she would be in Hogsmeade Village today.'

* * *

><p>"Hermione!" Ginny called down the corridor as she noticed her friend. Luna was walking alongside her. Both girls were dressed casually, ready for a morning of shopping in Hogsmeade.<p>

"Oh, wotcher, Ginny. Luna," Hermione replied, speeding up to meet the pair, "I'm so excited, I barely ever go shopping anymore," she smiled.

The three of them set off toward the carriage to Hogsmeade station. Today would be a relaxing day of girl-talk and shopping. All three girls were planning on buying a dress for the following night's party.

"I'm really hoping to find something that will stand out tonight, preferably in electric blue," Luna swooned, imagining an extravagant party dress with accessories and charms hanging from it.

"Let's just see if Gladrags has anything decent," Hermione said, worried that she wouldn't be able to find something to match her somewhat conservative tastes.

One short train ride later, the girls had arrived in Hogsmeade Village. The walked up High Street in search of Gladrags Wizardwear, the closest and most affordable clothing shop to Hogwarts'. Considering it was still early in the fall season, there was no snow on the ground in Hogsmeade. The warm brick paved road seemed to glow in the sun. Shop doors were open and the residents of Hogsmeade strolled up and down the main road.

Gladrags was no exception to the fine weather, of course. The pink painted window frames looked brighter and more inviting than ever. The girls quickly went inside and began perusing the shelves and racks.

"Hello, ladies!" the storekeeper greeted them with a smile, "Is there anything in particular you're looking for today?"

Hermione began to say, "Thank you, we're fine for now," but Ginny jumped on the opportunity of an empty store and a lonely shopkeeper.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, "I want a party dress. Something flashy; but not tacky. It has to be red. But I want it to compliment my skin tone!" Ginny began reading off a mental checklist of her 'necessary' dress requirements. Hermione and Luna walked off to the back of the store as the shopkeeper began flicking her wand about, summoning several dresses from around the shop in an attempt to please her latest customer.

Gladrags kept their garments arranged by color. Every blue sock went by the blue shoes. Each red vest was not far from each red hat. This was a rather creative and eye-catching way for them to display their merchandise, attracting young witches to marvel in the apparel of their favorite color surrounding them.

Hermione's favorite color had always been lilac. There were a large section of purple robes and cloaks, however, there were not many dresses. The ones she could find looked like they were tailor-made for Neville Longbottom's grandmother! Maybe she would find another color for the night…

She wandered over to a corner of the shop where several emerald-green dresses hung under spotlights against the wall. One dress caught her eye, and simply would not let go. Hermione searched the rack for her size, happily finding it. She took the dress to the fitting rooms in the back of the shop and slipped into an unoccupied room.

Hermione had her clothes off, down to her bra and panties. She carefully unzipped the dress and pulled it on. The dress had an open back, so it was not difficult for her to secure it. It was almost too perfect. She took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. Light danced across the rich fabric of the party dress. It was strapless, exposing her shoulders and neck. Thin pleats decorated the body of the dress. An elaborate jewel design adorned the entire gown in a symmetrical pattern. It was sexy; yet, not more revealing that Hermione was comfortable with, the fabric ending just above her knees.

She opened the door of the fitting room and stepped out to show her friends her discovery.

"Oh. My. God." Ginny whined, "I'm jealous! You look too amazing, Hermione."

Luna's eyes sparkled like the dress, "Wow, 'Mione. You **have** to have that."

"You don't think it's too formal?" Hermione asked, trying not to revel in her find too much.

The girls shook their head, insisting she buy it. Hermione found the price tag hanging from the side of the dress. Her heart sank.

"This is absurd," she said in distress, unzipping the back of the dress and heading back to the fitting room, "I can't possibly afford it. I'll just pick another dress."

Ginny frowned. "Oh come now, Hermione. Don't you ever treat yourself?" she coaxed.

She gave the ginger a 'look.' Ginny knew how to spend money; that was for sure, especially other people's money. Hermione retreated to the fitting room and took off the dress. She hung it back on the hanger and got dressed in her sweater and denim jeans, sitting on the bench in the room.

Hermione sighed and gazed at the dress, then at her reflection in the mirror. Perhaps she did need a bit of a pick-me-up. Being Head Girl was not all its cracked up to be, and it was still the beginning of the school year.

She eyed the price tag again. 'Twenty-nine galleons and twelve knuts,' the tag read. Hermione popped open her coin purse and sighed, realizing she had thirty-five galleons for the month.

Finally she snapped her coin purse closed and shrugged. "What the hell," she said, deciding to purchase the beautiful dress.

She walked out of the fitting rooms and could see Ginny trying to decide between two rather glitzy party dresses. Luna stood next to her with her dress tucked away neatly into a large pink shopping bag.

"I really like the one on the left," Luna offered, tilting her head.

"So do I!" Ginny replied, "But this other one has these little ruffles…" she said, lost in her decision.

Hermione placed the dress on the counter in front of the shopkeeper, "I'd like to buy this, please," she said, popping open her coin purse again.

Ginny and Luna whipped their heads around to see what she had chosen. They both made a fuss about how happy they were to see her finally letting herself have something nice. Hermione's face went a little red with embarrassment.

"Fifteen galleons and eight knuts, please," the shopkeeper said.

"What?" Hermione was confused; she swore that it had cost more. The shopkeeper gave her a pursed look, and she decided to just pay the reduced price that she had quoted, without contention.

The shopkeeper wrapped up the dress for Hermione and placed it in a bag.

Finally Ginny decided on her dress, a super-short ruby dress covered in cute vertical ruffles. The last girl paid and they exited Gladrags Wizardwear together.

"I'm so excited to put this dress on tomorrow!" Ginny swooned and held her bag close to her, "I'm going to look red hot!"

Luna giggled. They set off in the direction of the Three Broomsticks Inn, to have a glass of butterbeer at the pub. To get to the pub, they needed to walk up High Street once again. On the way to the Three Broomsticks, they passed Dogweed and Deathcap, an herb shop about a third of the size of Gladrags. As they were walking by, Hermione happened to peer inside the window, and caught an interesting sight.

A familiar figure stood at the window of the shop, looking out at her. It was Malfoy. He was holding a small black pot in his hand and seemed to be watching Hermione very carefully.

She stopped in her tracks, and walked over to the window. Draco saw her coming, abruptly set down the pot, and retreated into the depths of the store.

"Hermione!" Ginny called, snapping her friend out of her pursuit, "Let's go, we are almost there."

"Alright," she replied, her eyes scanning the store through the dusty window, only to lose sight of the Slytherin. She ran ahead to catch up with her friends.

The Three Broomsticks hadn't changed since the last time Hermione had visited. It was still smoky and warm, yet clean and welcoming. The girls chose a table in the middle of the pub and ordered up three butterbeers.

"So," Luna started, "what were you looking at in Dogweed and Deathcap, Hermione? Looking for some new herbs for potions?"

"Actually, no," she replied, "I thought I saw someone…"

"Well, it is a shop, they do have customers," said Ginny, sarcastically.

Hermione gave her a look. "No. I meant, I thought that I saw Draco Malfoy."

"That's not too surprising," said Luna, "the Head of Slytherin House is Professor Snape, after all. He was probably just picking up some ingredients for Potions."

Madam Rosmerta stopped by their table and set down three butterbeers, continuing on her way around the room. Hermione sipped hers slowly, enjoying the refreshment.

"Yeah, probably," Hermione concluded, pushing away her notions that he might be there for some ulterior motive.

Ginny took a large gulp of her drink and set it down, "Hermione, you have got to stop being so paranoid."

* * *

><p>Draco Malfoy opened the door to Hogwarts and slipped inside. Classes were commencing for much of the student body. Draco, however, had been sent to run an errand for Professor Snape. He returned now in the late morning with a large bag of vials and containers of varying sizes.<p>

He made his way down to the Dungeons where the Slytherin Common Room was located. He had always felt comfortable and at home here. Living in the Head Boy's suite was a welcome change from the squabbling girls and muttering loners that often littered the Common Room.

Draco and Snape were meeting in his office, which was not far from the familiar Common Room. Draco Malfoy stood outside of Professor Snape's office and knocked on the door. After a short while, the heavy door opened and the Potions master appeared in the doorway.

"Good morning, Draco," Snape drawled, stepping aside to welcome the Head Boy into his office.

"Morning, Professor," Draco replied.

Snape's office was just as it had always been, dark, somewhat gloomy, and the walls were lined with hundreds of jars of potions and ingredients. Draco set the heavy bag on a table in the room.

"I got everything on your list," Draco said, handing the checklist to him.

"Thank you, Malfoy," Snape said, taking the list and pulling the purchases out from the shopping bag.

"Your welcome, sir. I'll see you later," Draco walked toward the door, only to be drawn back in by Snape's voice.

"Draco," he said, urging Draco to turn back to him, "We need to talk."

The Head Boy nodded and took a seat in front of Snape's desk. The Professor sat down at his desk and intertwined his fingers.

"I am aware that you are now receiving tutoring from Miss Granger, of Gryffindor," he said.

Draco nodded again, feeling a bit uncomfortable as Snape's eyes bore into him.

Snape sensed this, and continued, "I just want to be sure that we are both on the same page here. I want to see that you and Miss Granger's connection remain completely professional."

Malfoy studied Snape, trying to read him. How much did he know about his feelings for the Muggle-born? "Of course," he said.

Snape walked over to the door and began to pull it open. Draco stood from the chair and headed towards the door.

"That's good to hear," Snape said, holding the door, "You ought to go study now, yes, Draco?"

The blond stepped into the dungeon hallway, "Yes, Professor," he replied.

"And remember, Draco," Snape said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Blood is **always** thicker than water."

The door closed and Draco was alone in the dungeon corridor. He looked down at the stone beneath his feet, and sighed. He was now on Snape's radar, and would need to take further care in hiding his growing affections toward the Head Girl.

* * *

><p>Hermione, Ginny, and Luna parted ways when they returned from Hogsmeade Village, arms filled with shopping bags. Hermione made her way to the Head Girl's dorm. She was very happy to be able to afford her new emerald dress, along with matching shoes and a glamorous necklace. Still, she wondered how exactly she was able to have the money for a full outfit without spending her whole monthly allowance.<p>

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," Lady Clarice Poppinghood smiled and greeted the Head Girl, "How was your Hogsmeade shopping extravaganza?" she asked, noticing the bags in Hermione's arms.

She grinned, "I went with a couple friends and we got some fabulous things for a get-together this weekend."

"Well! I wonder if you'll run into any silver-haired gents who might win your heart!" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Hermione scoffed, "Stop that, Clarice… Really."

Clarice rolled her eyes and laughed, "Oh Miss Granger, you are such a 'good-girl.'"

"Fluffy Godric," Hermione uttered and entered her dormitory.

She closed the door tightly behind her and kicked off her flats nearby. Hermione walked to her bedroom, pushing apart the curtains with her shopping bags and stepping inside.

She dropped the bags on her bed and pulled out the dress. She hung it from the door of her bureau and stepped back to admire it. She pulled out the dark green peep-toe flats she bought that matched. She set aside the crystal necklace she bought for the occasion as well. Hermione was happy to finally have some beautiful things of her own. Unfortunately she couldn't just gaze at her new purchases the rest of the afternoon.

Hermione changed out of her casual jeans and sweater, trading it for her school robes, adorned with the Head Girl badge. Both a Prefects' meeting and a weekly N.E.W.T. study session would occupy her afternoon.

Before she had to run off to the Prefects' meeting, Hermione decided to have a bite to eat. As Head Girl, she had her own cupboard with food that was restocked regularly by Hogwarts' house-elves. Sometimes she felt guilty, but right now she was hungrier than anything. She grabbed a blueberry muffin from the cupboard and slid her shoes on, slipping out the door with her book-bag.

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><p>The Head Boy and Girl were in charge of leading the Prefects' meeting. It was held in Classroom 5B, on the fifth floor. This was not a far walk for Hermione.<p>

She opened the large wooden door and walked in, greeting the Prefects who waited for her and the Head Boy. She set her book-bag down on the large desk at the head of the room.

"Has anyone seen Malfoy?" she asked, pulling a pad of parchment out of her bag with a quill.

The Slytherin prefects sat at the back of the room and laughed quietly. Hermione turned around to see the source of the cold laughter.

"Something funny?" Hermione asked. She knew why they laughed. They heard the rumor, as did everyone else in Hogwarts.

The female Slytherin prefect looked upon the Head Girl maliciously.

"Well?" Hermione said, giving her the same look back.

The room remained silent. Hermione moved on to start the Prefect meeting without Draco.

"First thing's first," she said, "Have you all been keeping on your monitoring schedules?" Hermione asked, looking around the room.

There was a room-wide sound of agreement, "Yes," everyone generally muttered.

Hermione nodded and began the meeting, going in depth on other topics for the Prefects. Prefects' meetings weren't long, usually about fifteen minutes. The Head Girl scoffed to herself as she noticed the time had snuck ten minutes from the start of the meeting. The least Draco could have done was shown up to his first Prefects' meeting. Instead, he left Hermione to look like a fool.

The meeting had quickly come to a close, however. Without a Head Boy to offer a differing opinion on the Prefects' standard operating procedures, Hermione was left to lie out new rules and guidelines without argument.

"Right, then…" Hermione said, her voice signaling a conclusion, "I suppose that's all for our monthly meeting. Any questions?"

The room swiftly cleared in response to her final question. Soon she was alone in Classroom 5B, leaning against the desk with a pad of parchment covered in scribbles.

Hermione sighed, taking in a moment of peace.

The door opened, and a tall figure appeared at the door, startling Hermione.

"Oh, Draco," she said, standing to face him, "You missed the meeting."

Draco Malfoy walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "Sorry about that, Granger. I'm sure they were no trouble."

Hermione felt a bit uneasy. Why was Malfoy being so awkward? She set her parchment down on top of her book-bag.

"Why were you in Hogsmeade, Malfoy?" Hermione questioned, staring him down.

Draco shifted his weight from one leg to the other and put a hand in his pocket. "I was picking up some ingredients for Professor Snape."

Hermione made eye contact with Draco, and held it. The Slytherin stared back at her, however nervously. Their gaze was locked intensely, and in those moments, Draco felt his heart rush and sweat bead up on the back of his neck.

"Fine," Hermione said at last.

Draco relaxed. "So, uh, I'll get going now," he said, turning to leave the classroom.

"One thing," Hermione said as she stepped toward him. "As you know, I'm an _ignorant_ Muggle-born witch," she said, her words coated in sarcasm. "Do you know anything about price tags… changing… in stores?"

Draco replied, "No, that must be your silly Muggle-born imagination," he said, walking out of the room.

Hermione smiled to herself. She knew he had something to do with her "magical" discount.

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><p>AN: Hehe, alright, alright, next chapter will have the big Friday night party! Prepare for some wicked hot stuff.

Review and such! I appreciate every reader! Thank you!

-Rawberry


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